


Another Word for Nothing Left to Lose

by eerian_sadow



Series: Sight Beyond Sight [2]
Category: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers Generation One
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Child Abuse, Gen, Slavery, Transformer Sparklings, growing up in the gladiator pits, loss of vision
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-26
Updated: 2019-02-18
Packaged: 2019-08-07 15:58:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 5,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16411529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eerian_sadow/pseuds/eerian_sadow
Summary: To his carrier, the sparkling was a tool and nothing more. But Meister is intelligent, charming and brave--and determined to earn a place in the world.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This started out as a hurt/comfort bingo fill a couple years ago and just EXPLODED. I didn't finish it in time for that round of bingo, but I'm still chipping away at it!

The sparkling is still too small when the arena’s medic forces separation. Megatron has already carried the new life a full meta-cycle longer than normal, and the overlord will not allow the gladiator any additional time to gestate.

Whether the sparkling lives or dies is of no concern to his owner; only the fighting fitness of its carrier matters. So the medic extracts the sparkling and places it into a frame too large for the infant to power properly.

Instead of flickering out as the system demanded power the spark could not provide, the newspark surprises everyone--especially the medic--by activating its optics and peering out at the world.

The sparkling is quiet, but it is undeniably alive.

Megatron smiles, the expression a promise of pain and suffering. “Do not let it die, Knockout.”

“What do you think I am, an incompetent?” The medic snaps in reply, the sting to his pride enough to counter the fact that he’s not sure how the sparkling is alive at all--and that he has no idea how to keep it that way.

“Oh, I have no doubts of your competence. It is your loyalty that concerns me.”

Knockout looked down at the sparkling, meeting the infant’s bright optics wearily. The last thing he wanted was to be caught between Megatron and their mutual owner. “I will treat it like I treat all my patients. Primus will have to drag its spark out of my hands before he can take it.”

“Excellent.” Megatron nodded and stepped out of the room, ignoring the pain he had to have been feeling from the forced extraction.

Knockout was glad he was gone. He turned to the sparkling with a charming smile. “Well, little one. Welcome to the Pit.”


	2. Chapter 2

At five meta-cycles old, the sparkling had grown enough to power its frame for basic motion. When it was clear that the infant wasn’t going to spontaneously extinguish from power drain, Megatron deigned to give it a name.

“Enter Meister into its creation registry.” The gladiator stroked one finger along the sparkling’s helm. 

“Are you sure, sir?” the medic’s assistant asked softly.

“Did my vocalizer stutter, nurse?”

“N-no, sir! Meister is a good name!” The mech hastily pulled out a data pad and typed in the designation. 

“When Meister can walk, bring it to my cell.”

“Yes, sir!”

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

At seven meta-cycles, when most sparklings were receiving their first frame upgrades, Meister took its first unsteady steps around Knockout’s small clinic.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

At eight meta-cycles, Knockout took the sparkling’s hand and led it to its carrier’s living space. The cell wasn’t large enough for both of them, but their owner would never give Megatron additional space until Meister proved it could bring in money as well as its creator.

Megatron smiled a predator’s smile when Meister stepped into the cell. “This is your home now. I am your creator, and you will obey me.”

Knockout was relieved when the sparkling didn’t look back at him for confirmation of the order. He had a strong suspicion that would be a death sentence for both of them. Instead, Meister nodded. “Yes, creator.”

Megatron’s smile widened as the medic’s mouth dropped open. The sparkling hadn’t given any hint that he could actually speak, though he had always understood a great deal. “You will address me as Megatron.”

“Yes, Megatron.”

“Good. Your berth is there.” The gladiator pointed at a pile of rags piled in a corner. “You will stay on your berth unless I or my _master_ call for you.”

“Yes, Megatron. May I say goodbye to Knockout?”

“You may.”

The sparkling turned back to the medic and reached out for a hug. Knockout obliged, crouching down and pulling the small frame into his arms. “Don’t worry. I’ll be okay.”

Knockout knew better, but he wasn’t going to crush Meister’s belief. Megatron would do that on his own.


	3. Chapter 3

When the sparkling was twelve meta-cycles old, it was introduced to Soundwave. 

Meister did not speak to the large blue mech as he stared down at the sparkling, optics wide with confusion and a bit of awe. Meister had never seen anyone but Megatron, Knockout and the nurse, and it had no idea that mechs existed who looked so wildly different from them. Shyly, Meister reached out to touch the blue mech’s plating, curious to see if Soundwave felt any different from the other mechs it knew.

Soundwave not only allowed the shy touches, he reciprocated by rubbing one large white hand over the sparkling’s head. Meister’s engine hummed with an emotion it couldn’t name at the action, and its optics fluttered shut.

“Megatron, Meister must be educated. Sparkling will not be useful to the cause if he is only capable of basic speech.” Meister started at the sound of the blue mech’s voice how different it was from its creator’s, but it thought its emotional subroutines were telling it that it liked the digitized tones.

“I have no time to waste on educating a sparkling.” Megatron’s tone was dismissive and Meister felt a stab of something it thought was pain. 

“Soundwave was not suggesting that Megatron instruct sparkling himself. Meister unlikely to ever be strong enough to be warrior or gladiator.” 

“And what would you do with it, Soundwave?” Meister’s creator turned and glared at the blue mech. “Turn it into another of your little spies?”

“Meister capable of learning stealth, silence and espionage. There is no reason not to teach him these skills.” Privately, Meister agreed with Soundwave. There wasn’t any reason not to teach it to be a spy, as Megatron put it, and every reason to give it something to keep it busy. The sparkling was bored out of his processor in its corner of the cell. “Not all followers of Megatron’s cause can be warriors.”

For a moment, Meister thought its creator would hit Soundwave, the way he had hit Knockout the last time the medic came to give it a checkup. Instead, he flexed his hands several times before turning away from them again. “Very well, Soundwave. Teach it to be useful. But teach it to be something besides a spy like your drones. Five of them is enough.”

“As you command, Megatron.”

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

When the sparkling was twelve and half meta-cycles old, during their first formal lesson together, Meister gathered the courage to ask a question that had been burning in its processor since it met Soundwave.

“Soundwave, why do you call me “him” but Megatron calls me “it”?”

Soundwave paused as he was setting a data pad down in front of the sparkling. “Soundwave believes Meister is a mech, not a tool.”

“Oh. Will he like me if I learn everything you teach me?”

“Soundwave… does not know.”

“Oh.” Meister’s shoulders slumped for a moment. Then _he_ sat back up and focused on the data pad in Soundwave’s hand. “Even if Megatron never likes me, I want to know things.”

Soundwave set the data pad on the table and reached up to rub Meister’s head. “Soundwave agrees.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: ON SCREEN CHILD ABUSE IN THIS CHAPTER. SKIP TO THE SECTION STARTING WITH "Up on the table, little one" TO AVOID IT. The incident and damage are referenced throughout the chapter.

Meister was tucked away in his corner, carefully reading the glyphs on the data pad Soundwave had given him to study when a new mech stepped into Megatron's cell without permission. Instead of yelling the way Megatron always did, his creator slid off his berth and knelt down in front of the new mech.

“So,” the new mech said, looking straight at Meister. “I go to all the trouble of letting you keep it, and losing millions of credits, and you give me a runt. I've exterminated retrorats bigger than that.”

“Knockout believes that the fights I was forced to participate in during the early stages of carrying disrupted its growth, Master.” Megatron didn't look up but Meister could see the anger on his face at the new mech’s words. 

“I keep Knockout around too keep my gladiators functional, not for his opinions.”

“Of course, master.”

Meister frowned along with his creator. Knockout wasn't always nice, but he was a good medic and he knew a lot.

“And is it reading, Megatron?” The master took a step closer to the sparkling, and Meister fought the urge to crawl away and hide under his creator’s berth.

“Soundwave is teaching it, master. He believes that the sparkling will be a useful assistant.”

“What are you reading, sparkling?” the new mech crouched down in front of him and reached for Meister’s data pad. He handed it over slowly, conscious of how upset Soundwave would be if he let it get damaged. The master looked down at it and smirked. “Fantasy stories? I thought Soundwave was more rational than that.”

“He says I need to understand how to be creative, too, if I want to be good in the sound room.” He hadn't realized just how big their master was from the doorway, but the mech was huge and intimidating up close. “He makes me study the technical manuals when I'm with him.”

For a moment, he thought he might have said too much, but then the master laughed and gave the data pad back. “I can tell he's yours and that he'll give me as much trouble as you do, Megatron. Keep him useful and I won't sell him to the Pit in Vos.”

“Yes, master,” Megatron's reply was an angry hiss, though their master didn't seem to notice the venom.

The new mech stood back up and walked walked out of the cell, having clearly accomplished what he had intended. Meister forced his cooling system to restart as Megatron stood up from his crouch on the floor.

The sparkling had only a moment of relief before his creator’s land cracked across his face and his sensory network lit up with pain. Meister cried out, and Megatron slapped him again.

“Never let him see you reading again! Never let _me_ see you reading again!” The gladiator struck a third time, and Meister felt something pop loose in his jaw.

“I'm sorry, Megatron, I didn't know!” The sparkling clutched his data pad to his chest and looked down at the floor. His whole head hurt, especially his jaw.

“Get out of my sight,” Megatron commanded. “And make sure Knockout tends your face.”

“Yes, Megatron.” Meister climbed to his feet and darted out the cell door.

 

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

 

“Up on the table, little one.” Knockout didn’t look up from the weapon he was re-attaching to one of the other gladiators when Meister creeped into the clinic. 

“Okay.” The sparkling’s reply was staticy, but he did as he was told. He knew Knockout wouldn’t keep him waiting veyry long if he could help it, but he also knew that the other gladiators were more valuable than he was. He didn’t understand it, but he knew.

“I won’t be more than five joors,” the medic told him.

“I don’t mind if you look the sparkling over before you finish,” the gladiator, a huge blue mech with bright lavender optics, spoke up. “That jaw looks like it hurts.”

Finally, Knockout looked up and over at the young mech. He frowned and then shook his head with a sigh. “Meister’s repairs will take longer than connecting a few wires. Let me finish here and save us all the Master’s wrath.”

“Okay.” The blue mech gave the sparklig a weak smile. “But what’s he going to do? Fire me?”

“Freemechs.” The red mech sighed again and turned back to the exposed wiring on the gladiator’s arm. “He’ll fire you, sure, but he’ll sell Meister and I off to Primus-knows-where. I do not intend to be separated from my brothers.”

“Yeah, sorry. I forget.” The blue mech looked away from both of them and fell silent.

Meister had heard the word brother before, but he didn’t know what it meant. Eager to distract himself from how his face and head hurt, he let himself ask even though he had no idea if the medic would be as eager to answer his questions as Soundwave. “Knockout, what is brothers?”

“What _are_ brothers,” the red mech corrected absently. “Brother is singular and brothers is plural. And they are five pains in my skidplate who got us all sold into slavery when they couldn’t pay off their gambling debts.”

That… didn’t seem at all like what Soundwave meant when he said the word brothers. Meister tried to frown, but whatever was broken in his jaw made it hard--and it hurt more. “Are you sure?”

“Very.” Knockout reconnected the last of the gladiator’s wires to the weapon and started fitting it into the blue mech’s arm. “But they’re also mechanisms that share the same spark donors--creators, and sometimes even the same spark.”

The small mech didn’t really know what all that meant, except the part about having the same creators, but it seemed more like what Soundwave meant when he said that Frenzy had a brother in another gladiator pit. “Okay. Thank you.”

“Usually a sparkling your age would have a dozen more questions prepped.” The gladiator’s weapon finally slotted back into place in his arm with an audible clunk and Knockout picked up a tube of sealing paste and began applying it around the edges of the mount. “You must really feel like slag.”

He started to shake his head, but that made the pain worse and he froze. “Yeah, but I learn a lot being quiet, too.”

“That you do.” The red mech smeared the last of the paste into the weapon mount and patted the large mech on the arm. “All done. Absolutely no solvent showers for two cycles. I don’t want to be rewiring that arm again before your work contract is up.”

“Yes, Knockout.” The blue mech slid off his exam table and onto the floor with a thud. Then he looked at the sparkling with a soft smile. “Sorry to have made you wait. I know you needed the doc more than I did.”

“It’s okay,” Meister lied. It wasn’t okay, he _hurt_ , but it also wasn’t the gladiator’s fault that he wasn’t considered valuable. “It’s not as bad as it looks.”

“The frag it’s not.” The blue mech patted Meister’s leg on his way to the door. “But you keep that attitude in place. It’ll help you around here.”

The sparkling didn’t know how to reply to that, so he didn’t say anything. That was usually the right approach with the gladiators. 

Once the blue mech was gone, Knockout stepped up to Meister’s side with a scanner. “This took longer to happen than I thought it would.”

“He hit me.”

“I can see that.”

“You knew he’d hit me!” Meister shouted in anger, even though it made his head hurt more. 

“He hits everyone, Meister. Everyone except our owner.” The medic ran his scanner over the small mech’s head several times, making sure he could find all the damage. “He doesn’t control his anger well.”

“I didn’t even do anything wrong. I didn’t know I wasn’t supposed to read in front of him or master.” Now he wanted to cry again--something that Megatron had expressly forbidden their second cycle of living together--but he didn’t dare. That made his head hurt even more.

“Ah, so that’s it.” Knockout set his scanner down and cupped Meister’s jaw gently with one hand. “He thinks you made him look foolish and ignorant in front our owner. Hold still, this will hurt when i bend it back into place.”

“Okay.” Meister steeled himself for the pain as Knockout worked. As soon as the red mech pulled his hands away, he asked, “Why does he think I made him look… ignorant?”

“Because you know how to do something that he doesn’t, something that our “master” knows he can’t do. It embarasses him, because he doesn’t know how to do something a vorn-old sparkling can do.” The medic’s hands returned to Meister’s jaw, holding the damaged plating where it belonged and welding it back down. “Now, I have to take off the back of your head to look at your processor. Something got rattled loose inside; that’s why things hurt so much.”

“Okay. Is he going to hit me again?”

Knockout went very still and sighed softly. “Yes, he probably will. And I’m sorry, but there’s probably not anything you can do about it.”

“Maybe if I pretend I don't know so much around him he won’t hit me.”

“I hope so, bit. I hope so.”

“Can I stay here tonight, just to be safer?”

“Of course you can.” Knockout pulled him into a hug and squeezed him tightly. Meister hugged back and wished he could stay here forever.


	5. Chapter 5

At one vorn old, the sparkling received his first upgraded as his creator watched.

He had been glad when Knockout told him his spark was finally strong enough for a bigger frame, because it meant that no one could see the damage from when Megatron hit him but it wasn't bad enough to go to the clinic for. At least for a while.

But now, looking at the plating and internal parts that would be added onto his body, Meister was scared. What if Knockout was wrong and his spark wasn't ready? Or worse, what if Megatron decided he liked him even _less_ and started doing more than hitting? 

Ravage had told him a story once about a mech his creator hadn't liked and that Megatron had ripped apart piece by piece.

“I cannot work with you looming over him like that,” Knockout snapped unexpectedly. “Get out of the way. If his spark rejects the upgrades, it won't matter how close or how angry you are.”

“I would watch my tone if I were you, medic.” Meister tried to curl into a ball as Megatron glared at the red mech. “You are not the only medic in the arena.”

“But I'm the only one who will come within a meter of you. Now back off and let me work with my patient.”

Megatron snarled angrily and Knockout stared at him, silently daring the gladiator to attack. Finally, after several tense kliks, the large mech took a step back. 

“Further,” the medic commanded.

Megatron glared again and took two more steps away from Meister’s exam table.

“Better.” Knockout turned his attention to the sparkling huddled on the table. “Now, no need to be scared. I did dozens of sparkling upgrades before my idiot brothers got us sent here. You're going to be fine.”

“What about my spark?” Meister glanced quickly from Knockout to Megatron and back.

“Your spark is very strong, remember? You were running this frame before you were even big enough to be considered full-term.” The red mech gave him a reassuring smile. “A few extra parts won't be anything you can't handle.”

“What if it rejects the upgrade? What happens then?”

“I have never had a spark reject an upgrade. But if yours decides to be the first, we'll take them off and you'll stay in this frame.” The red mech patted the sparkling on the head before pulling a cord out of his arm. “Now, I need to plug in, so I can make you recharge while I work.”

“Will it hurt?”

“Not a bit, but you might be dizzy when you wake up.”

“Okay.” Meister tried not to show how scared he was as he let Knockout open the access port at the base of his head and plug in.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

He didn’t like his new frame when he woke up. His arms and legs felt too long and his shoulders were too heavy. He was _noisy_ when he tried to walk.

He couldn't do any of the things Soundwave was teaching him, if everybot in the arena could hear him coming. 

“You just have to learn again,” Knockout assured him. “And you're not as loud as you think you are.”

“I don't care. I hate it.” Meister frowned. 

“And I don't care if you hate it. You can't support better sound dampeners right now, and I wouldn't install them if you could.” The medic crossed his arms and stared out at the younger mech. “You need to learn to walk again, not clomp like a newspark. You're not leaving until you do.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: ON SCREEN CHILD ABUSE IN THIS CHAPTER. SKIP TO THE SECTION STARTING WITH "You, get out of the way," TO AVOID IT. The incident and damage are referenced throughout the chapter and the rest of the fic.

Three meta-cycles after his upgrades, Megatron hit Meister again. He didn't know why, except that he didn't quite fit into his cramped corner anymore and Megatron could actually see him now, even if he didn't want to. 

The backhanded slap didn't hurt the same way it had before the upgrades, but he still felt his new face plate buckle under the force. And, when he blinked up at his creator to apologize for whatever he'd done wrong, he realized that the colors in the room looked faded and washed out, including the gladiator’s normally bright silver plating. 

“You broke something.” It wasn’t the apology he had intended, just a frank assessment of the damage his creator had done. He hadn't _meant_ to say it out loud, though.

Megatron snarled with rage and hit him again. Fiery pain flashed through his head and Meister screamed.

Then the world went dark.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

“You, get out of the way.” Meister lifted his head when he heard Knockout’s voice and tried to look at the medic, but everything was still dark. He felt talons trace along the damage on his face carefully and whimpered. “Meister, you stop moving. You’re very badly hurt this time.”

“I d-didn’t mean to…” the sparkling whispered. 

“I know you didn’t. And you kept your aft on that berth or so help me, I will have Motormaster _put you through it_!” He had never heard Knockout so angry before, and Meister hoped it wasn’t his fault. He didn’t want Knockout to be angry with him.

“You had best remember your place, medic.” Megatron’s voice was an angry growl and the sparkling had to resist the urge to flinch away; moving made everything hurt more.

“I am well aware of my place, thank you. Somehow, it always involves repairing people you’ve broken.” There was a sound of metal rasping against metal--a sound Meister didn’t recognize--and Knockout’s talons left his face. The small mech whimpered at the loss, even though the touch had hurt; he wanted the medic to stay and help keep him safe. “Breakdown, Dead End, bring the stretcher in. I don’t want to try to walk Meister to the clinic.”

That made Meister shiver with fear. If he couldn’t walk, he was very, very damaged. “Am I gonna die?”

He knew what dying was; Soundwave had explained it once when one of the gladiators turned grey in the clinic. He wasn’t sure if he was scared of that or not.

“No.” Knockout’s voice was firm. “You are not going to die, even if I have to pry your spark from Unicron’s hand.”

“Okay.” Meister tried to relax. The medic would take care of him, and everything would be all right.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

 

It was dark when he woke up. He knew he was awake, because he could hear the cheers of crowd in the arena--he never dreamed about those--and he could smell the sanitizer that Knockout used to clean the berths. He could feel the blanket tucked around him and the pillow under his head.

But everything was still dark.

“KNOCKOUT I CAN'T SEE!” Meister hadn't meant to scream or to sound so afraid, but he had believed that the medic was going to fix him.

“Shh, Meister.” Knockout’s voice was soft and his hands were gentle when they cupped his cheeks. “I've repaired what I can for now, but we don't have the right parts for everything.”

“Why can't I see?” The youngling heard his voice crack with fear and he thought he might cry even though it would make Megatron hit him again.

“Because he knocked the cable that powers your optics loose and it shorted out against the sensors inside.” Knockout rubbed his thumbs over Meister’s cheeks soothingly. “The short caused your entire optical suite to melt down. That's why it hurt so much more than usual.”

“How long before you can fix it?” The sparkling swallowed hard to keep from crying. 

“I don't know.” Knockout sounded angry and sad and worried all at once. “The master is already angry that we keep having to repair you. He might not let me get the parts for a while.”

“Oh.” Meister wanted to turn his head away, but Knockout was still holding his cheeks and rubbing them gently. “W-what do I do?”

“For now, you rest and integrate the parts I was able to replace.” The medic sighed. “Then you’ll have to learn to get around without seeing for a while.”

“I don't wanna be blind, though! I wanna read and play games with Frenzy and… and…” Finally, he lost the battle to keep from crying, and huge sobs wracked his frame.

A moment later, Knockout picked him up from the berth and cradled Meister to his chest. It almost helped him feel better, when the medic began singing softly.


	7. Chapter 7

“Meister.” Megatron's voice startled him from his thinking. 

Meister turned his head toward his carrier's voice, glad he couldn't actually see the mech anymore. “Go away.”

Megatron growled. “Do not presume to give me orders, sparkling!”

“I don't want you here. Knockout said I don't have to have visitors I don't want.” He knew Megatron wouldn't let him get away with this attitude forever, maybe even not today, but he didn't care. He just wanted to be someplace safe until he was repaired. 

“Knockout says too much.” There was another, more dangerous growl in his carrier's voice. “Stop sulking in that corner, before I give you a reason to do so!”

“I think you've done enough, Megatron.” He hadn't known Motormaster was in the medbay, but Meister wanted to cheer when he heard the big mech's voice. “The bit doesn't want visitors. Get out.”

“Do not assume you can give me orders because your brother is the medic treating _my_ offspring.” Meister heard the grinding sound that Megatron's hand made when he balled it into a fist sometimes. 

“I'm not assuming anything. I can give you orders, because I'm standing guard over a vulnerable patient in Knockout's clinic.” There was a pause before Motormaster continued speaking. “Unless you want to go through me, you're not getting to this youngling. And we both know I can take you in a fight.”

Meister bit his lip at the thought of his creator and Motormaster fighting in his small room at the clinic. It was frightening, because they were both huge but also because he couldn't see to run and hide while they hit each other. “Just go,” he whispered as quietly as he could. 

“That is enough from both of you.” Knockout's no-nonsense voice interrupted before Megatron could reply. “Meister doesn't want visitors, so visiting joors are over. Get out.”

“You dare--!” Megatron growled and Meister flinched.

“GET OUT OR I WILL CALL THE REST OF MY BROTHERS AND MENASOR WILL DRAG YOU OUT!” The clinic fell silent at Knockout's enraged screaming. Meister bit his lip harder and wished he could see the adult mechs’ faces to figure out what was going on.

“You cannot keep him from me forever.” Megatron's voice went flat, the way it did when he was so mad that he didn't know what to do. “And I will remember this the next time we meet in the arena.”

“Whatever.” Motormaster didn't sound impressed by Megatron's threat, and Meister wondered how he managed to be so brave in front of his very scary creator. 

After several long kliks where Meister could hear the grinding of the gears in Megatron's hands and nothing else, he heard the large mech turn away. His heavy footsteps faded as he stomped away, and Meister felt a little less afraid as the sound faded.

“Primus, I'm glad you were here.” Knockout's voice was shaky. “I don't think I could have stopped him from taking Meister without you.”

“Keep telling you that you need to learn some self defense, Knock.” Motormaster sighed. “...But I'm glad I was, too. You okay over there, bit?”

It took a moment for Meister to realize that Motormaster was talking to him. “I'm okay.”

“I'll kick his aft for you, if he comes back before Knockout releases you.”

“Thank you.” The young mech wasn't certain that he wanted Motormaster to fight his creator, but it was nice to know that someone _would_ fight to keep him safe if necessary. 

 

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

“He doesn't want visitors.” Breakdown said, voice firm and lacking the waver it usually had. 

“Soundwave understands.” The young mech felt his spark ache when his teacher spoke. He had missed the blue mech and his calm, soothing presence. “Soundwave hoped only to look in and visually assess Meister's condition.”

“Sorry, mech, but not even that unless the bitlet changes his mind.”

“Its okay,” Meister said before Knockout's brother could accidentally make Soundwave angry. “You can let him in. I don't mind if it's him. Or Frenzy or Ravage.”

“You sure? You don't gotta say yes just because Motormaster isn't here to drag him away.”

“I'm sure. Soundwave is okay.”

“All right. But,” There was a soft sound, like someone touching another mech just a little forcefully, as Breakdown spoke, “If you do anything that will give Megatron an opening to hurt him, Motormaster won’t be the only one of us you need to look out for.”

“Soundwave understands. Soundwave has no intentions of hurting Meister.”

Meister felt a little sick at the thought of Soundwave ever hurting him. He knew his teacher was a gladiator like Megatron, but he was always gentle with him. He didn’t like that Breakdown thought he might.

“Long as we understand each other.” Breakdown’s voice wavered just a little, like he had used up all his confidence talking to Soundwave. 

“Affirmative. Breakdown should rest. Soundwave will guard Meister.”

“Can’t. I promised Knockout a full ten joors. But I’ll wait in the hall.”

“Appreciated.” Soundwave’s heavy footsteps downed out Breakdown’s lighter tread as he crossed the room. Meister reached his arms out for a hug as his teacher sat down on the edge of the berth, and Soundwave hugged him tightly. “Soundwave apologizes.”

“For what?” Meister’s voice was muffled against the blue mech’s plating, but he didn’t want to move so that he was easier to hear. He felt safer with Soundwave than he did with Knockout and all his brothers combined. 

“Soundwave knew Megatron was angry. Soundwave should have taken precautions for Meister’s safety.”

Meister shook his head, even though it made his nose scrape uncomfortably against Soundwave’s chest. He didn’t like how upset his teacher sounded, when what happened wasn’t his fault. He didn’t make Megatron hit him. “You didn’t know he’d do this. He’s never hurt me like this before.”

“Negative. Soundwave should have helped.”

The young mech shook his head again, but he didn’t argue. He didn’t want to argue, and he wasn’t very good at winning arguments with Soundwave anyway. He just wanted his teacher to hold him tight, just like he was doing, and let him forget how awful things were for a little while.

**Author's Note:**

> Like what I'm doing? Visit me on Tumblr for more fic, and ways to get a fic like this for yourself!  
> https://eerian-sadow.tumblr.com/
> 
> Don't do Tumblr? Find me on Dreamwidth, too! https://eerian-sadow.dreamwidth.org/


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